NOT many people can take steel scraps and turn them into pieces of art, but that\u2019s exactly what local artist Andre Sardone has been doing for years.<\/p>\n
Living at his Mandurang property in the Greater Bendigo National Park with partner and nature photographer Bridget Finch, Sardone works away in his backyard creating magnificent artworks.<\/p>\n
Now, Sardone and Finch are bringing their art to a new exhibition at Dudley House on 19 June called Steel Life<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cBridget\u2019s taken a lot of photos of the birds and nature on our property and a lot of my sculptures, which are mainly recycled materials, are inspired by nature around us here,\u201d Sardone said.<\/p>\n The idea for the exhibition was born during the COVID-19 lockdown last year, which saw the artistic couple turn to their backyard for inspiration.<\/p>\n Sardone said while the restrictions have brought hardships for a lot of people, he does enjoy working at home in his shed.<\/p>\n \u201cBridget had been taking a lot of photos, I had had all my events cancelled, the exhibitions I had planned originally last year were cancelled,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were looking to something when lockdown finished, and we sort of came up with the idea of a collaborative exhibition November last year.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some ways it\u2019s been really good for me because I do crave having time in here and I just want to spend time here and it suits that side of it.<\/p>\n \u201cExhibiting wise made it hard, with artwork it\u2019s a visual medium and needs to be seen by audience.\u201d<\/p>\n Sardone, who has worked as a roof plumber for over 25 years, started using leftover Colourbond steel to create art in 2003.<\/p>\n When he moved to Bendigo, he worked next door to Sandhurst Steel Processing and was frustrated by the amount of waste he would see.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world is suffering from too much waste and not being able to process it well enough,\u201d he said. \u201cI get great satisfaction out of it. Most of the materials I use were destined to be waste.<\/p>\n \u201cOn building sites, each house that gets built there\u2019s seven skips full of waste that get shoved into the ground, where most of it could be recycled.<\/p>\n \u201cFor every 10 houses built I reckon you could build a house with the waste that\u2019s thrown. There\u2019s lots of opportunities for recycling and my artwork\u2019s one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n